Sand Lizards win season openerJESSIEVILLE -- The Dardanelle Sand Lizards basketball team opened their season with a 39-36 win over Jessieville on Tuesday. Dardanelle (1-0) led 12-5 after the first quarter and 21-16 at halftime. Jessiville tied the score 28-28 in the third quarter, but the Sand Lizards prevailed in the end. "This was a great way to start our season," Dardanelle head coach Russell Sturdivant said. "We had a group of guys stay the course tonight and defend fr...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Cyclones drop two spots in AP pollThe Russellville Cyclones dropped to No. 9 overall in The Associated Press Arkansas Prep Poll despite a convincing win over the Siloam Springs Panthers to close out the regular season. Russellville was previously ranked No. 7 across all classifications. The Cyclones, who were ranked No. 2 in Class 6A for the majority of the season, also dropped to No. 4 in Class 6A behind Greenwood, Pine Bluff and Jonesboro. In Class 2A, Danville is ranked No....

Jr. Lady Pirates beat Hector in tourneyDOVER -- The Dover Junior Lady Pirates opened the Pope County Tournament with a 43-22 victory over the Hector Junior Lady Wildcats on Monday. Dover led 11-0 at the end of the first quarter and 26-6 by halftime. After the third quarter, the Junior Lady Pirates were up 36-13. "This was a nice start for these girls," Dover head coach Charlie Melton said. "Very proud of the team effort. Dover was led in scoring by Avery Reichert with 13 points. Am...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

RHS wins NCA Arkansas ChallengeHOT SPRINGS -- The Russellville High School cheerleaders won the Class 6A All Girl Division at the NCA Arkansas Challenge on Saturday. "This is our first competition of the season so it is sort of like a first run of our routine," Russellville head coach Shirley Wade said. "The girls have been working on it since we learned the choreography in July." Russellville scored 94.20, which Wade said was the highest she has seen in her career as head ...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Little Johns remain undefeatedAUGUSTA — The Danville Little Johns finished the regular season flawless as they defeated the Augusta Red Devils 49-24 on Friday at Curtis King Stadium. Danville (9-0, 7-0 2A-4) scored first with 10:12 left in the first quarter on a 3-yard run by Quentin Tolbert. Jake Madding connected with Brandon Coleman through the air with 6:58 left in the first, and Madding found Juan Ponce on a 37-yard pass with 47 left to make it 21-0 at the end of the ...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Sand Lizards get 3-peat, shut out BulldogsWALDRON — The Dardanelle Sand Lizards, picked in the preseason to win the 4A-4 Conference, claimed their third league championship on the road Friday night and showed no mercy with a 38-0 rout of the Bulldogs. Dardanelle (8-2, 6-1 4A-4) looked to score on its second offensive series after it converted three third-down conversions with passes by Elyas Carter to Caynan Taylor and Carter Chandler. Carter got inside the one on first-and-goal from ...

Cyclones beat Siloam Springs, secure byeSILOAM SPRINGS — Russellville junior Josiah Woodard scored four touchdowns and had one interception during the first half of the Cyclones 45-13 victory over the Siloam Springs Panthers on Friday at Glenn W. Black Stadium. The win secured the No. 2 seed out of the west, first round bye and a homefield advantage in the quarterfinals of the Class 6A State Tournament. Russellville (9-1, 5-1 6A-West) established a 35-6 lead by halftime, despite a h...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Red Devils victorious over MustangsPERRYVILLE -- The Atkins Red Devils solidified a conference runners-up finish in the 3A-4 with their 28-7 road win over the Mustangs on Thursday night. Atkins (7-2, 5-1) will host a first-round state playoff game next week at Sorrels Stadium at Lemley Field. Senior Cory Childress intercepted a pass and caught two touchdown passes from senior teammate Seth Haney, who ended up with three TD tosses. The Red Devils got on the scoreboard first when...

Wildcats electrify on Senior NightHECTOR — Senior Night doesn't sting for winning programs. The Hector Wildcats celebrated theirs by dominating the Quitman Bulldogs 44-6 on Thursday at Linton Field. Sure, it was the final home game in the careers of 12 seniors, but the Wildcats eyes are fixed firmly in the postseason — which includes at least one more home game. "The bus doesn't stop here," first-year head coach Kyle Russell told the team after the game. "It stops at War Memor...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

RHS History: Cyclones beat Little Rock HighThe Russellville Cyclones have played around 1,080 football games, so to pick one game as the greatest victory of all-time is challenging. But one game, played 80 years ago in 1936, certainly merits serious consideration as one of them. On Saturday afternoon, Nov. 21, 1936, the Cyclones played highly touted Little Rock High School (now Little Rock Central) at Tech's Buerkle Field before an overflow crowd of 2,500 fans. At the time, the Little ...

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BY STAN COCHRAN
For The CourierThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Cyclones' Midnight Madness is tonightCyclone Arena will be filled with basketball tonight as the Russellville Basketball Booster Club hosts its annual Midnight Madness fundraiser. The event, which will feature basketball from every grade level within the Russellville School District, is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. today with the Russellville Middle School Lady Gales. "We will be introducing all of our players and coaches from our seventh grade teams up to our high school team...

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Courier sports staffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Cyclones move up one, 7th overallThe Russellville Cyclones move up to No. 7 across all classifications and remain deadlocked at No. 2 in Class 6A alongside the Jonesboro Hurricanes. The Greenwood Bulldogs are the only undefeated team left in Class 6A and are ranked No. 1. The Danville Little Johns are No. 2 in Class 2A behind the England Lions. The Hector Wildcats are ranked No. 5. AP Poll LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- The top 10 overall high school football teams in Arkansas and the t...

Lamar roughs up Gators, 44-0LAMAR -- The Lamar Warriors raced to a 44-0 victory over the Two River Gators on Friday at Warrior Field. Lamar (5-4, 4-2 3A-4) scored 25 points in the first quarter -- a 23-yard pass from quarterback Johnathon Mayes at 8:35, a 37-yard run by Zedrick Lee at 6:40, a 23-yard run by Hunter Davenport at 4:23 and a 31-yard pass to Joe Mueller with 47 seconds left in the first. The Warriors missed three field goals in the first to leave the score at...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Pottsville Apaches brutalize SubiacoSUBIACO -- The Pottsville Apaches defeated the Subiaco Trojans 44-0 on Friday at Raymond Rebsamen Stadium. Pottsville (4-5, 3-3 4A-4) established its dominance in the first quarter with a 30-0 lead. The Apaches scored first on a 3-yard run by Samuel Holland. Stephen Judkins added the PAT to make it 7-0. Pottsville scored again soon after when the Trojans (0-9, 0-6) lined up for a punt, but the play resulted in a safety. Austin Bell returned th...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Pirates cash in Waldron turnoversDOVER -- The Dover Pirates defeated the Waldron Bulldogs 41-0 on Friday on Senior Night for the last home game of the season at Jack Berry Field. "The offensive line won the game for us this week, while the defense held a shutout," Dover head coach Greg Smith said. "When the team can work together, we're hard to beat." The Pirates (7-2, 4-2 4A-4) kicked off to Waldron (5-4, 3-3 4A-4) to start the game. Dover's defense started the game with a f...

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BY GREGORY L. BRADENThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Lady Cyclones fall to MarionLAKE HAMILTON -- The Russellville Lady Cyclones' volleyball season came to an end on Thursday with a 3-0 loss to the Marion Lady Patriots in the semifinals of the Class 6A State Tournament. Individual set scores were 7-25, 14-25, 19-25. "We played the best team we have played all year last night (Thursday)," coach Christina Wilbers said after the game. "Our girls showed a lot of heart by coming back in the third game to give them a good fight ...

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Courier staff reportsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Little Johns capture 2A-4 title outrightDANVILLE -- The Little Johns won the 2A-4 Conference title on Friday at Little John Field with a 45-19 victory over the Decatur Bulldogs. Danville (8-0, 7-0 2A-4) scored early and often to reach a 45-6 lead by halftime. The Little Johns scored first on a 28-yard run by Jake Madding to make it 7-0 with 11:06 left in the first after a PAT by Pablo Zapotitlan. Danville scored again on a 71-yard run by Madding to go up 14-0. Next, Evan Lane return...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Sand Lizards educate Hillbillies on Senior NightDARDANELLE — The Sand Lizards moved one step closer to a third-straight outright 4A-4 Conference title after defeating the Ozark Hillbillies 17-13 on Friday at Keenan Field. This class of Sand Lizards (7-2, 5-1 4A-4 Conference), which many assumed would suffer having graduated a talented group of seniors last season, has proved themselves scrappier than many expected. Senior Dakota Rowland summed it up when he addressed the team after Friday's...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley